Red and Blue
by fatejumper
Summary: When Team RWBY goes missing during the Mountain Glenn arc, Qrow and Winter must band together to find them - either becoming friends or enemies in the process.
1. Chapter 1

Qrow blinked in mild confusion at who he saw standing at Ozpin's desk.

The Atlas specialist, Winter Schnee was here?

"Well, what do we have here?" Qrow greeted loudly as he sauntered in from the elevator with his hands in his pockets. "I thought it was just supposed to be me up here."

The individual he was confused about turned around, meeting his gaze. Winter narrowed her eyes before giving him a small nod in greeting. Ozpin let out a soft sigh as Qrow filled the space next to Winter.

"Good to see you too, Qrow." Ozpin tiredly replied.

"Oz, what's going on?" Qrow inquired as he met the Headmaster's troubled gaze. He didn't like what his gut was telling him when he caught the look in Oz's eyes.

"Well..." The Headmaster trailed off as he paused to take a sip of his coffee. He peered down at the liquid, his reflection staring back at him before lifting his head to meet the eager gazes of the two before him. "It's about your niece and your sister. The entirety of Team RWBY actually." His mop of white hair bobbed as he nodded to Qrow and Winter.

"What's happened to them?" Winter spoke, her eyebrows furrowed in worry.

"It appears that upon leaving for their trip with Professor Oobleck, they had encountered something - causing us to lose communication with them. With the White Fang doing who knows what at this moment in time, I'm afraid of what Team RWBY might have gotten caught in. I already informed Ironwood about this situation and with his approval I am sending you Winter along with Qrow to go and find them." Ozpin cleared his throat once he finished speaking, raising his gaze to notice their silent distraught expressions.

"You may depart for them when you are ready." Ozpin dismissed them as he gave them a nod, reaching for his cane to lean on.

* * *

" - and of all the people, it has to be you!" Winter slammed open the door, exiting the tower where Oz's office was, her voice carrying across the open space of the pathway. Qrow trailed out after her, a scowl across his face as he let out a scoff.

"Please, I'm not _that_ much of an annoyance, am I?"

"Yes, you are!" Winter whirled around with a shout, gritting her teeth. "You are an insufferable, arrogant - !"

"Bafoon, yes I know. You already said it a million times." Qrow interrupted as he rolled his eyes. "But you know," He stopped walking and faced Winter, catching the change in her demeanor when she realized he was being serious.

"Ruby and Yang are my family. I deserve to go just as much as you do, Ice Queen. We need to find those kids and Oobleck, so suck it up and deal with it."

At his words, Winter took a breath and pressed her lips together. Seeming like she would retort, Qrow braced for it - however it never came. Instead, the Schnee let out a breath through pursed lips, her hands resting on her hips. With that breath it appeared as those her irritation from before dissipated.

"Well alright then. We'll leave whenever you're ready."

* * *

Winter leaped, blasted and killed Grimm after Grimm, yet they continued to appear as if nothing has happened. Letting out a breath as she landed from a dodge, she felt the rumble of concrete breaking beneath her feet and dived out of the way as yet more Grimm appeared from the crevices.

"They just keep coming..." Winter said under her breath as she prepped herself to attack once more. The various species of Grimm charged, Winter took a step back and suddenly she was slammed into, rolling to the ground. Shaking her head to push aside the pain, Winter caught Qrow pushing himself from the ground, head down, chest heaving and blood dripping.

"Qrow! Are you -"

Before she could continue, she caught the red hue of a beam from the corner of her eye. Without a second thought Winter was at Qrow's side already bringing up a gravity glyph just as the beam make impact. Taking the chance she had, Winter hauled Qrow further away from the Grimm.

"What are you doing, Ice Queen?" His normally rough voice was strained near her ear as Winter set him down to the ground.

"What's it look like? Ensuring you are not a liability. Now, can you still fight?" Winter asked as she stared the man down.

"You bet." His stark red eyes narrowed as they met Winter's. The cut along the side of his forehead oozed blood as Qrow stood up and wiped it away with his sleeve, Winter taking a step back.

After a moment of silence, Winter let out a soft sigh.

"We have to find them." Winter quietly said, her free hand clenching to a fist.

"Hey," a hand hesitantly touched her shoulder, making Winter glance up from the ground to meet Qrow's serious gaze. "We'll find them."

A brief nod from a silent Winter was all it took for Qrow's hand to pull away.

"First, let's get away from these guys." Qrow said as he sheathed his weapon behind him, already beginning to leave the Schnee to the dust.

"Do not even dare to think of ditching me, Qrow!" Winter said as she caught up to him, the roars of the countless Grimm faint behind her. A soft scoff came from the Branwen, making Winter frown for a moment.

Normally the two would quarrel per usual. Now was not the place and definitely not the time.

"Wouldn't dream of it." Qrow quipped back as he pulled out his scroll, checking for signal.

Hearing the beep of no connection, Winter glanced over when she heard him groan deeply. Qrow ran a hand down his face as he pocketed his scroll.

"Those kids..." he muttered to himself before turning to Winter, beckoning with his head to follow him. "C'mon, let's get moving. They're around here somewhere."

* * *

 **Hello! I'm fairly new to the RWBY fandom but I managed to catch up over my winter break so now I'm a fan for life! Qrow is such an interesting character and it's been a treat to see him become such a major character in the more recent volumes of RWBY.**

 **This story just kind of popped out of nowhere, but the dynamic of Qrow and Winter has always been at the top of my mind since I first saw their fight. I kind of had an idea and went with it! Let me know what you think!**

 **If I think of any other potential plot points with this I'll definitely update!**

 **Thanks for giving this a read!**


	2. Chapter 2

"To think these creatures are as old as time." Qrow mulled to himself as he looked out at the Grimm before him. Goliath Grimm were walking a good distance from him, huddled together and bellowing. If they weren't creatures of destruction, Qrow would've probably marveled at the sight of them.

He jolted when he heard Winter clear her throat behind him. Glancing over his shoulder, he caught the troubled look in her eye and arched a brow.

"I found something, but it's not good." Winter revealed as she beckoned for the Branwen to follow.

The two of them stared down the gaping hole in the concrete of the abandoned city. There was no telling what was at the bottom of the hole. The fact that nothing disturbed the air around them was ominous enough.

"I believe they were in this area. While you were daydreaming over there, I discovered some recently burnt firewood and some rose petals in one of the buildings." Winter said as she turned her head to see Qrow's lips quirk into a small smile.

"Rose petals, huh? That's definitely a Ruby." Qrow chuckled, looking relieved.

"Then there's definitely a Weiss down there too." The Schnee's eyes narrowed as she looked into the dark hole.

"Yup." Qrow replied, pronouncing the 'p' with a pop of his lips.

Without another word, Winter balled her hands into fists and jumped feet first into the pit of darkness. Qrow speechlessly blinked at where her outline once was and shrugged to himself.

"Ladies first!" He called out as he took a step into the hole, the darkness around him swallowing him up.

* * *

Falling through the air, Qrow glanced down to see earth rushing up to meet him. As he braced his knees, he caught the light blue glyph of the Schnee appear beneath him. His feet slammed into the glyph, which disintegrated upon impact, allowing him to softly land on the ground. He saw that Winter had her back against a huge storage unit and moved to join her.

"Thanks for that. Man...this seems like a giant storage area of some sort." Qrow noticed as he glanced around, taking note that he sensed no one around the two of them.

Winter seeming to notice the same thing carefully pulled away from the storage unit and wandered into the clearing. Qrow followed, when he saw the tracks after the ground suddenly disappeared.

"Tracks...they were transporting something. But...who?" Winter questioned as she glanced around, her eyes widening when she recognized the emblem printed on all of the empty units.

"It's the White Fang." Qrow grimly said, the uneasy feeling in his gut returning. "Just our luck..." For once he hoped that his semblence would go easy on him today.

The click of Winter's heels caught his attention when he saw her move closer to where the chamber became a tunnel to the train. Trailing after her, Qrow's breath caught in his throat when he heard the echo of Grimm's cries and explosions come through the tunnel.

"They're on that train, Qrow. We've got to go!" Winter exclaimed as she pulled out her sword, Qrow doing the same with his scythe.

"Yeah, but they must be a good distance away - "

Winter suddenly placed a hand on his shoulder.

Qrow stared down at her hand in silence.

"Uh...what are you doing?" He asked with a confused raise of his brow. Winter met his gaze for a moment before rolling her eyes at him.

Winter pulled back the hand that held her sword, focusing her aura to the area behind her. Within a moment, a large sky blue glyph appeared behind them, illuminating the empty lair with it's light. Qrow glanced behind him, aware of the memories that resurfaced with the familiar looking stance and the speed at which Winter had traveled in that memory. Swallowing nervously, he lifted a hand.

"You're not going to - ?"

"Hang on!" Winter yelled as she launched herself forward. "We're coming Weiss!"

Qrow barely managed to grab her shoulder before he was shot off, his sentence jammed into the back of his throat.

* * *

"You three go low and try to stop these bombs!" Dr. Oobleck ordered as he nodded to the other girls of Team RWBY. "Ruby! You and I will stop this train!"

"Yeah, I know you said that earlier." Ruby added in as Dr. Oobleck gaped for a moment.

Zwei let out a bark as the Blake, Yang and Weiss headed down, spurring Ruby and Dr. Oobleck into action.

* * *

The two of them came to a stop at what appeared to be the rear of the train. As soon as Qrow felt solid ground, he leaned onto his knees and groaned in nausea. Winter glanced down at him for a moment and with a small smirk, patted his shoulder in fake consolance.

"Did you see back there? There were holes in the ceiling and the dust of Grimm all over. What in the world is going on here? Where is this train going?" Winter said as she stared down the length of the train. The fist in her stomach had refused to leave when she first set foot in this strange cavern tunnel of some sort.

"No, I didn't see because I was too busy getting whiplash." Qrow grumbled as he picked himself up, recovering.

"Serves you right for not hanging on sooner."

"Hey!"

At the rumble of the cargo train they were on, they burst into a sprint as they both caught fiery explosions in front of them. When the red hood and stark green hair became visible to their eyes, Qrow let out a breath of relief.

"Ruby! Dr. Oobleck!"

The two of them whirled around at the sound of their names. Ruby launched herself at her uncle with Zwei following, Dr. Oobleck approaching to give a hearty laugh in greeting. Winter caught the sight of Zwei sitting on top of Qrow's head and would have snickered at the image if the thought of her sister wasn't at the forefront of her mind.

"What is going on here, Oobleck? Where is my sister?" Winter demanded, taking a step forward.

"Yeah, where's Yang and Blake too?" Qrow added as he glanced around not seeing their familiar faces.

As Ruby and Dr. Oobleck began to explain the situation, tremors shook the train cars, directing the group's attention to the giant weaponized robots approaching.

"I'll check on Weiss, I can trust that you will handle things up here, Oobleck?" Winter said as she prepared herself to head down.

"It's doctor. But yes, Ruby, Zwei and I will be fine."

"I'll go with you." Qrow added in as he followed Winter's path down to the lower level. "I believe in you, kid." He said towards Ruby who yelled "Thanks, Uncle Qrow!", before disappearing below.

* * *

As Qrow and Winter piled into the first cargo hold, the Branwen stopped in his tracks when he caught sight of the fading red slash in the air.

She had been here.

"...Qrow?...Qrow! Is this Yang?"

His gaze shifted to see Winter crouched down, holding Yang's unconscious form in her arms. His focus on his sister shattered, Qrow was at Yang's side immediately taking her into his arms.

"Yang, can you hear me? It's your Uncle Qrow." He softly said, eyes laced in concern. When he glanced up, he caught Winter's torn gaze and nodded towards her as Yang started to stir.

In a second, Winter was up and running through the next door over not knowing what lay ahead.

* * *

When Winter walked through the door, she had caught the exact moment when that lackey laid his hand on her sister's face. By the time he threw Weiss' body to the ground, Winter had already charged forth, sword shimmering as she used fire dust to blast him into the next door.

"You dare hurt my sister?!" Winter grounded out, creating a blast of wind to knock the man through the door. Seeing that he will no longer stand, Winter hurried back to her sister, gathering her in her arms.

"Weiss..." She quietly said, pleading that there be a response. Soon enough, Winter saw her sister's eyes open and let out a sigh of relief. Her hands tightened around her sister's arms for a moment.

"...Winter?" Weiss softly said before her eyes widened in recognition and disbelief. "How did you get here?!"

"Weiss!" Blake and Yang's voices came from opposite directions as they both emerged. As they bent down to assess their teammate's seemingly okay condition, their gaze turned to Winter as well as an approaching Qrow.

"How did you guys get here?! Why are you here?" Yang asked as they all stood up.

"Ozpin sent us. Said you all had gone missing and that he couldn't reach you guys." Qrow replied.

"Dr. Oobleck said this train is headed to Vale. Is there any way we can stop it?" Winter asked as she met her sister's stare.

"We'd have to get to the front of the car." Blake answered as she reached the ladder to head up. "But we should meet with the others first."

As they all grouped to the top it wasn't long before Ruby ran into them. But before anyone could say anything, Weiss met Ruby's gaze before creating a blockade of ice around them. In a moment there was the sound of an explosion, a burst of white light, then nothing.

* * *

 **Hi again! Thank you to those who favorited, reviewed, and gave me feedback! I really appreciate and am grateful for your attention with this story! I fixed some issues in the first chapter real quick so hopefully no one else gets confused. And just a note, not everything will remain the same from Vol 2 Episode 11/12! It's just some small details that are a little different.**

 **I'm suddenly posting another chapter because I was way too excited of how I saw the rest of the story in my head!**

 **Thank you again and let me know what you think!**


	3. Chapter 3

When Winter came to, the light of day seared into her eyes and her ears rung from the blast. Realizing she had been buried under some rubble, she shifted only to hiss in pain that bloomed at her side. Winter continued to push herself to her knees and surveyed what had happened.

There was yet another enormous hole in the ground. Which could only mean one thing: they were in Vale and Grimm were coming.

Ears perking at the sound of a groan, Winter stumbled to her feet to push aside some rubble covering Dr. Oobleck. As he dusted himself off, he kindly thanked her and stood to search for the students. Following suit, Winter tapped into her aura to heal any injuries and assisted Weiss and Blake to their feet.

"This ain't good..." Qrow said as he brushed the dirt from his coat. "Any second now Grimm will be piling through."

"Then we fight!" Ruby and Yang said prepping themselves.

"It seems like we have no other option." Dr. Oobleck added.

Winter remained silent when she felt her scroll vibrate. As she reached for it, the ground beneath her feet felt that familiar rumble and all at once chaos ensued.

Grimm appeared from every crevice imaginable, their screaming and roaring filling the air. The onlooking citizens screamed in terror as the Grimm prepared to attack.

Not if they could help it.

* * *

Qrow's Harbinger clashed against the tusks of the Boarbatusks, the noise ringing in his ears. With a grunt, he pulled away his blade and leaped into the air coming down on to the Grimm's neck with a side slash. As soon as the head came down, Qrow barely had time to recover when a pack of Ursa's swarmed behind him roaring. Leaping into action, he slashed and hacked slowly becoming aware if his semblance as more and more Grimm surfaced.

Jumping away from the swipe of a paw, Qrow was surprised to suddenly hear the shimmer of glyphs beneath his feet. Feeling the surge of strength, Qrow shot off toward the growing pack of Ursa using his temporary enhanced speed to effectively kill them all. Taking a breath, he looked above him to see Winter propel herself forward using her glyphs to shoot straight into an incoming Nevermore. Glancing around, he could see other students from Beacon now fighting alongside his nieces and their teammates. The sight of fighting in unison suddenly made his heart ache for his former team, the feeling catching him off guard.

A pair of boots landed beside him, causing him to turn to see Winter looking slightly concerned. Given that she was fighting, Qrow would have expected there to be some dishevelment but to his surprise her appearance retained it's pristine, clean stature. Qrow would've made a comment but Winter beat him to it.

"Daydreaming again, Qrow?" Winter said as she swiped her sword to flick off the Grimm blood.

"Something like that." He replied with a small scoff, his hand readjusting his hold on Harbinger. "Hey, you seem to be helping me a lot lately. Don't tell me you got something for me, huh Ice Queen?"

Qrow gave the Schnee a teasing smirk, catching the incredulous look in her sky blue eyes. Winter crossed her arms and turned away, head held high.

"Not on your life!" Winter defiantly replied, resulting in Qrow chuckling.

Winter opened her mouth to say more but was interrupted by the screech of more Nevermore making their way to the group. The Grimm they had killed seemed to resurrect and multiply given the sheer amount. Wordlessly, the two of them stood back to back preparing to strike.

"This damn semblance..." Qrow darkly muttered, Winter glancing over her shoulder at the incomprehensible words he said.

Paying it no mind, Winter created a line of glyphs in front of her about to fire when the Grimm surrounding them burst into dust. Turning her head to the source, she allowed herself a small smile of relief as she recognized the Atlas ships making their way in. The ships dropped their automated soldiers and proceeded to overwhelm the Grimm rampaging into Vale.

"Fantastic. Our automated savior." Qrow drawled out before throwing himself into the fray.

Winter shook her head as she followed suit.

* * *

Winter stared down at her hands in the sink, the sound of running water filling her ears. Observing the healed over calluses along the top line of the palm, she ran her thumbs over them when there was a knock on the door.

"Winter? Are you okay?" Weiss' muffled voice came through the door.

Memories of her joining the Atlesian military and the feeling of her father's disappointment dissipated as she dried her hands and called that she was coming. Opening the door, Winter paused as Weiss took a step back with a worried look in her eyes. They both walked to one of the spacious courtyards Beacon spotting a few empty tables and a beautiful setting sunset.

"Weiss," she began as they both sat down at one of the tables. Winter held her hands in her lap, mulling over her thoughts before she raised her gaze and gave her younger sister a smile.

"You seem brighter, happier even. I can't tell if it is because of your new friends and team or if it is because of your choice to stay here in Beacon or both, but I wanted to say that I am glad to see you like this."

Weiss blinked at her words for a moment, processing it before she let out a delighted gasp, grinning.

"Thank you, Winter. For those words, and for being here." Weiss said gratefully, her cheeks reddening slightly from the praise.

Winter smiled warmly at her before tilting her head to the side, a knowing grin on her lips.

"Now, how is your semblance coming along?"

* * *

Qrow let out an exhausted yawn as he left the building of Ozpin's office. Having stayed after the initial meeting with Ironwood and Winter, Oz had him stay to discuss even more important matters. One that added to the weight of all the secrets he's kept so far.

Walking along the stone path, the fatigue started to get to him as he reached into his coat pocket to grasp his flask. With what he's learned so far, he really needed a drink at this point. Grumbling incoherently to himself, he took a few gulps and sighed as he capped the flask, the noise providing him with some comfort. Hearing a couple of voices near him, Qrow craned his head to see Weiss and Winter speaking to each other in the courtyard. He could see the glow of their glyphs and was about to turn away deciding that it definitely wasn't his business to stare when Winter bent down to give her sister a hug.

Now it really wasn't his business anymore to stare.

Heading in the direction of his nieces dorm, Qrow walked over believing that playing video games with them would be better than brooding over all these secrets. But he paused in his tracks when he saw Weiss jog over past his nieces dorm and around the corner. If she went that way then that must mean the rest of her team was in that direction. Better to not get involved.

"So this is the end."

Jumping at the sound of Winter's unexpected voice, he glanced over to see Winter a few feet away from him with a hand on her hip. When a questioning "huh?" escaped his lips, Winter gestured to the pair of automated soldiers that were making their way towards her.

"Oh?" Qrow said as he stuffed his flask away, his eyes narrowing for a moment. "Well, this isn't a proper goodbye at all, now is it?"

"And what exactly do you mean by that?" Winter tilted her head suspiciously, sky blue eyes analyzing Qrow's movements.

"I'm sure we'll see each other again, Ice Queen. 'Ol Jimmy never likes to keep away from Beacon recently anyway." Qrow replied with a shrug, crossing his arms in front of him.

"Hmph, we shall see."

"You know, for someone who is usually so cold and stern, you sure have shown enough emotion for me to see that you care about Weiss more than you let on." Qrow abruptly said as he crossed his arms casually, noticing Winter's posture stiffen at the note. He saw her pause for a moment, perhaps thrown off guard for once.

"Wh..." The Schnee trailed off, her thoughts clearly jumbled at Qrow's statement. She gave him a hard stare, trying to get a read on him but could not place a reason on why he would mention such a detail. In a minute, she straightened her form and cleared her throat, smoothing down her coat. She supposed it would be no harm to converse for a moment.

"Of course, she is my sister. However...unlike you with your family, I will not be able to be at Weiss' side constantly. I cannot protect her always. But I treat her the way I do because I know she is strong." Winter suddenly explained, glancing off to the side as she was a bit uncomfortable speaking about her sister so seriously to someone else.

The silence that Qrow gave her made Winter look up to see his eyes closed for a moment. Robotic hums reached Winter's ears as the pair of automated soldiers reached their destination - a few paces behind her. She glanced over her shoulder to see them and turned back to say her farewell to Qrow when she met his light red hued gaze.

"Weiss is strong. But she also needs more of her sister than the drill sergeant side you have."

"You dare lecture me, Qrow?" Winter said defensively, narrowing her eyes at the man at his sudden words. Qrow grinned at the sudden change, taking a step back.

"And there's the Ice Queen again."

The robotic beeps that suddenly filled the air again disrupted the banter between the two of them, making Winter glance at the two patiently waiting soldiers. As she turned back yet again, Qrow cleared his throat and extended a hand out to Winter without any hesitation.

"You're not half bad, Ice Queen. We've argued many times before but...I think we can get along eventually." Qrow drawled out, Winter stiffening at the sudden gesture.

Winter's gaze turned into suspicious slits as she glared at Qrow. The thought of an alliance or whatever he was implying was definitely throwing her off guard. She didn't like it one bit. But to do anything to finally leave Beacon, she gave out a long resigned sigh and gave the man a firm handshake. She did so, not knowing what she had just signed herself to.

"Fine."

* * *

 **Hello again! I understand if Qrow or Winter may seem a bit off in this one...but I feel like this chapter worked out well! Let me know what you think! This kind of finishes that "Mountain Glenn" arc(?) I guess! If I can think of even more ways to propel these two forward into friendship and camaraderie I'll update (or leave me any suggestions and I'll try to tie it in!)**

 **Thank you for reading this! Glad to see these chapters have some attention ^^**


	4. Chapter 4

Winter stared down in contemplation at the papers in her hands. With the ticking of her clock breaking the silence, the Schnee read line by line of the handwriting in front of her again and again. Weiss had written to her yet again. The image of seeing her younger sister thinking of the words to say and tapping her pen thoughtfully brought a warm smile to Winter's lips.

It had been a few months since Winter departed from Beacon and shook the hand of that consistently drunk of a man named Qrow. A handful of days beyond that and Winter's thoughts of that moment had completely disappeared. Her body and mind was buried in her work once again as she oversaw the production and test-ability of the automated soldiers Ironwood so desperately needed. In the midst of working, Winter would receive letters now and then from Weiss - filling her older sister in on the events that going on at Beacon. Each letter was more of the same: exams, training, the occasional academy festivals, and her team's daily shenanigans. But the fact that Weiss continued to send updates of her life to Winter brought a pleasant feeling.

Given that she only thought of Weiss as her family now - this choice of contact meant a lot to Winter.

"If only I could respond just as well..." Winter said with a sigh. Her eyes darted over to her trashcan that was piled with crinkled handwritten paper.

Winter would be lying if she said she hadn't been thinking about what Qrow said to her.

 _"Weiss is strong. But she also needs more of her sister than the drill sergeant side you have."_

The Schnee folded the letter neatly and tucked it into her coat pocket, groaning as she brought her glove-less hands to her face. She was trying her best to reach out to Weiss, just as Weiss was to her. But...for some reason, it was difficult to finish any letters she wrote. She couldn't figure out why.

Qrow's words had no effect on her before, but now they have buried deep into her skin refusing to give way.

"Damn it, Qrow." Winter muttered as she stood up. Her gaze caught on to the shattered moon up high, her sky blue eyes focusing on the floating fragments.

* * *

The clink of ice filled Qrow's ears as he placed his glass down. The moment he did so, the itch of a sneeze suddenly appeared, his eyes widening as he let it rip two times in a row. Qrow shook his head in confusion while he rubbed his nose, knowing for sure that he wasn't getting sick.

"You catching a cold there?" The bartender inquired as he wiped recently washed glasses.

"Definitely not. I can't afford to be sick." Qrow said with a laugh, pushing his fringe back with a hand. The bartender let out a chuckle as he eyed the Branwen's outfit, already aware of his position as a professional Huntsman. Qrow put down some lien and waved to the bartender as he began to make his way out of the bar he frequented.

"Have a good night!" The bartender called out as Qrow exited, the man throwing a peace sign behind him as he left.

Now walking along the streets of Vale, Qrow gave a yawn, stretching his arms to the sky. Feeling his joints pop, he let out a sigh of satisfaction as he hung his hands behind his neck. Glancing up at the fragmented moon, he smiled.

"You never change do you?" Qrow spoke towards the moon, amused by how much has passed at Beacon ever since the incident with the Grimm in Vale.

After Winter had left and the situation that occurred with the Grimm was dealt with, things at Beacon seemed to progress. All the students began preparing for exams with one of the biggest academy festivals coming up. Ozpin of course called Qrow up to his office frequently to discuss more of what the White Fang might be up to. And how could he not think of his nieces? Team RWBY was growing and gaining more confidence and strength in themselves as each day goes by.

Qrow was proud to see how far Ruby and Yang have come.

With a grin on his lips, his thoughts suddenly wandered over to his old team once more - the light in his eyes dying a bit as memories resurfaced. Heaving a sigh, Qrow hung his head and shoved his hands in his pockets as he walked in the direction away from Beacon academy.

"And off we go." Qrow muttered before breaking off into slight jog, using the shadows around him to his advantage.

As he passed a pillar, his physical form disappeared as he transformed and flew into the night.

* * *

"Winter? Have I made myself clear?" James Ironwood said as he met Winter's hardened gaze seriously. The general and the Atlesian specialist stood next to a small running airship. It was the dead of night, the rest of Atlas Academy asleep.

"Yes, General." Winter replied as she stood straight, her arms by her sides. Ironwood held her gaze for a moment, before his serious facade slipped away and he gave the woman a small smile.

"I expect your safe return then. Contact me should anything important occur."

"Of course."

With that, Winter boarded the small airship and sat near the window. As it took off, she spotted General Ironwood standing alone in his white uniform until he vanished from view. Now surrounded by the silence of the aircraft, Winter took a deep breath to calm her racing heart. It wasn't her first time going on a mission like this. However each time she found herself alone her heart always shot into overdrive. She only ever placed the blame on nerves. Though deep down, perhaps it had something to do with her distant relationship with her father - and Weiss.

Shaking her head, Winter forced herself to focus on the task at hand to keep her thoughts still. She was the only operative in this mission. She had to do well.

Winter clasped her hands together in her lap as she mentally went over what needed to be done. Ironwood had received information that some portions of the White Fang had somehow stolen prints and tech for the new production of Atlesian military grade weaponry. Not to mention the reports of stolen crates of Schnee dust as well. All Winter was required of was to scout and ensure that this information was true, to retrieve any stolen prints, and to apprehend the culprits if possible.

Easy.

Winter closed her eyes when she heard her name in the earpiece she was wearing.

"Miss Schnee, it is time. We will be a few clicks south in a safe location. Please inform us of when and where you wish to depart." The pilot said, his tone monotone and clipped.

As the aircraft landed, the side door opened. With the black of night staring straight back at her, Winter released a slow breath and stepped out.

Far above her was the sound of flapping wings.

* * *

 **Hi again! Shocked by another update? haha me too. I guess since I'm in that pre-class college limbo where I'm just trying to fill my day, I can write as much as I want :)**

 **Let me know what you think of this one! Enjoy and thank you for reading!**


	5. Chapter 5

Qrow was just supposed to make his way to the nearest city over. His final destination was supposed to be Atlas where he was to relay some information to 'Ol Jimmy. So what in the world was he doing observing a familiar looking woman in white making her way stealthily through the trees? No less in the form of a crow?

He shouldn't be here observing. Hell, this wasn't even his business. But here he was, perched atop a branch, blinking his red eyes as he watched Winter practically melt into the shadows. If he were were in his human form, he was at least 90 percent sure he wouldn't have been able to see her in it weren't for the glint of her sword from the moon. He tilted his head to the side when he realized he couldn't sense the Schnee anymore and cursed to himself, noting how fast she moved.

Taking flight, he observed from overhead where Winter was heading and noticed a slightly lit compound up ahead. Moving ahead of her to scope, Qrow let out a warbled squawk when he saw the crates upon crates of dust. There were workers milling about wearing the uniform of the White Fang along with the masks. With a look to the trees where Winter possibly was, Qrow finally had an idea of why the Schnee was here.

Why was he even here? If he wanted to intervene he knew he would have to explain how he got here. And having to explain that magic was actually real to Winter was a hurdle that Qrow wasn't sure he wanted to take at the moment. He understood that Winter was strong and capable of doing something like this herself. He should just leave and let her do her thing.

Qrow turned and was about to take off for the nearby city when the nagging feeling in his brain made him stop. His thoughts suddenly wandered to the handshake he and Winter Schnee shared, making him mentally face palm. What had he done, proposing some alliance like that? That they would eventually get along? Was he insane?

With Qrow amidst his mental breakdown, he missed out on catching Winter sneaking in to the compound and successfully knocking out a few guards - heading to the power source for the lights.

Only when Qrow was plunged into darkness, did his thoughts finally stop and focus on one thing.

Winter Schnee.

* * *

She needed to move swiftly and quickly. In the moments before she killed the lights, Winter caught the Schnee name marked on the containers of dust - mentally checking off one item from her list. Winter engaged her gear for night vision and slipped them on, using the side of the containers for support. She tightened the gloves on her hands and moved forward, catching several heat signatures in her area. Wanting to complete this mission without the use of dust to blow her cover, Winter lunged forward and sunk her fist into two of the workers. Upon hearing their breathing even, she placed them on the ground and continued on.

Peeking around a wall, there was a double set of stairs that led to a platform and an office. As she glanced up, she heard the yells of workers and perhaps the person in charge, ordering them to get the lights back on and to continue working. In the darkness, Winter caught the flick of a flashlight and cursed to herself. Things might not end so cleanly after all.

About to move to dispose of the other guards on watch, Winter stiffened when her gut said to move.

Whirling around, her eye gear caught an arm outstretched. Immediately, Winter grabbed their wrist, spun them around and shifted to slam them to the floor when she recognized the form of the person in front of her. Upon Winter's grip going slack, the person's green form straightened, their fringe shifting. Without another second, Winter slammed her right arm into the person's throat and the left fist pressed against their torso, pinning them to the wall.

"Wait, wait!" Came a familiar rough voice that was hushed.

"Shut it! State your purpose." Winter hissed as her eyes refused to believe who stood before her.

"It's me, Ice Queen!"

Her memories from Beacon months before came flooding back as Winter released her hold on Qrow, taking a step back. Shocked, she saw through her lenses Qrow massaging his throat and putting up no signs of a fight.

"What are you doing here, Qrow? You're not supposed to be here." Winter whispered as her nerves suddenly sprung back to life, her heart racing with the thought of a new factor to her mission. This man was not in her debriefing. Ironwood made no mention of Qrow accompanying her on this mission.

"I figured you could use some help."

"I do _not_ need any assistance, Qrow. Now _leave._ " Winter definitively said as she turned away from the man, ready to resume what she was here to do.

"I can't just leave, Ice Queen. I'm here on other business as well. Besides, we're friends aren't we?" Qrow replied, his words making Winter tilt her head in confusion.

"Friends?" Winter echoed, the term suddenly so foreign to her. She wanted to add more, but this conversation was getting out of hand. "I'm supposed to apprehend the person in charge here and take back prints stolen. I _cannot_ mess this up, so take very special care of using the word 'friends', Qrow."

At that, Winter stalked silently ahead, leaving Qrow to himself.

* * *

Well that did not go how he had planned it. Qrow pushed his fringe back as he let out a silent sigh, following after the Schnee. He had just lied to her saying he had other business here. What business, Qrow?!

Sensing a few dozen presences, Qrow rushed forward and knocked them out as he caught Winter make her way to the top of the stairs. Once the workers were dealt with, Qrow climbed up the stairs and froze when the lights of the facility suddenly came back on. The sounds of fighting drew his attention when he saw a huge body crash through the glass of the office and slam into the railing of the platform. Acting like nothing happened, the man picked himself up and dived back into the office, sounds of Winter dodging coming from the gaping hole.

Damn it...the lights...was it his semblance interfering again?!

Rushing up the steps, Qrow appeared around the corner to see Winter getting tossed against one of the windows - glass cracking upon impact.

"Hey!" He yelled as he ran up to the man wearing a White Fang mask. Side stepping his punch, Qrow ducked under a swipe and jabbed his fist into the man's side. Upon contact, Qrow pulled himself back and in front of the man, sending a kick straight to his chest.

As the White Fang lackey stumbled back, Winter pulled out a taser and lunged forward to make contact. Almost seeing the taser touch his jacket, the Schnee's eyes widened when the man suddenly twisted to the side, the body now in front of her belonging to Qrow.

In that moment, everything seemed to slow down: Qrow taking a step back in shock, the White Fang lackey trying to run away, and Winter extending a hand to the side to summon a white glyph.

Then everything went back into real time. Winter's body slammed into the lackey as she pressed the taser into his back, gritting her teeth as they both went down.

Winter groaned in pain as she picked herself back up, the pieces of glass that had stuck to her bouncing off the floor. Hearing Qrow's approaching footsteps, she turned to see his wide eyed expression, blinking speechlessly.

"Are you okay?" Qrow asked as Winter walked over to the exposed blue prints that definitely belonged to Atlas. She rolled them up and was going to check for any more when Qrow stepped in front of her, a hand on her wrist.

"Winter." He said as he met her hardened gaze.

"What, Qrow?"

Qrow gestured towards the footsteps of blood that she had just created to obtain the prints. Winter followed his gaze quietly and where they led to - finally noticing the blossoming wounds across her side and back. Lifting her gaze back to Qrow's confused expression, Winter moved past him and opened the other cabinets - pulling blueprint after blueprint.

"These are nothing, Qrow." Winter replied with a dark smirk. With a glow of sky blue, she tapped into her aura and healed the open wounds for now, knowing that the glass would need to be removed later. "For now, we need to leave."

* * *

"You're pretty crazy, you know that, Ice Queen?" Qrow said after he and Winter exited Ironwood's office - Winter having given him her report and blue prints once she received first aid. Qrow had relayed the information he needed to from Ozpin.

"Am I now, Qrow? How about you care to explain exactly _how_ you came to be in that place?! You said you had business there too. Explain." Winter countered as she rounded on the Branwen, the man caught off guard.

"Uh...I lied." Qrow admitted with a sheepish smile, one that Winter returned with a scowl.

"You lied?! Well, what about how you ended up being there then?" Winter placed her hands on her hips as she stared Qrow down. The man visibly looked uncomfortable, his gaze to the side as he stood in silence. With exhaustion suddenly hitting her like a bus, Winter raised her hand and shook her head as she let out a sigh.

"...Nevermind that. Somehow you were there and..." Winter paused to grasp at her words, Qrow taking note of it with a hint of amusement. "...I am grateful."

"Grateful? A Schnee?" Qrow said with a wide grin, his hand digging into his phone to pull out his scroll. He opened it to reveal to Winter of an audio recording that was going live.

"How dare you!" Winter exclaimed as she swiped for it, Qrow dodging with a simple turn. Winter glowered at the man as she held her sore side.

"I guess this means we're actually friends now, huh?"

"We are _not_ friends!"

* * *

 **Hi again! I'm still currently in the progress of incorporating everything from the suggestion I've received but do not worry! It will be done!**

 **Hoping that you enjoyed the chapter! Let me know what you think! I really appreciate it!**


	6. Chapter 6

_"Weiss!"_

The Schnee heiress whirled around at the call of her name, her eyes wide with fear. That voice...it was stricken with distraught and concern. And it belonged to Winter. Scanning the area around her, Weiss stared at an endless corridor of what looked like her home in Atlas. The familiar blue decorated walls brought back flashes of memories from her childhood, one of the best of times and the worst. As Weiss hesitantly took steps forward, she paused when she saw a figure ahead, her eyes widening in a panic.

"Winter!" Weiss screamed when she saw the figure of her sister struggling against something.

Weiss sprinted forward, moving as fast as her legs could take her while Winter appeared to be being held back by swirling shadows. The closer Weiss thought she was, the further it turned out to be. Realizing that she wasn't getting anywhere, Weiss paused to grab her rapier and focused her aura to the soles of her feet. With the temporary enhancement of speed, Weiss shot towards her sister.

"Weiss...you need to leave!" Winter grounded out as she was pulled to her knees, the shadows of whatever was restraining her enveloping her form. Weiss shook her head furiously as she grabbed for her sister's arms, trying to lift her on her own.

"I'm not leaving you, Winter!" Weiss yelled as she pulled, her jaw clenched.

"You have to, Weiss! You have to _leave!_ " As Winter shouted, a blast of air shoved Weiss away from her sister. Falling to the ground, Weiss looked up to see Winter gradually disappearing into the shadows.

"No! Winter!" Weiss exclaimed as she rushed to her feet with an arm outstretched, tears running down her face.

As her hand reached for nothing, Winter jolted awake in bed gasping. She shoved the covers back, aware of how loud her breathing was in the shared room of her team. Weiss pressed her hands to her face as she attempted to calm down when she felt wetness on her hands. Had she woken up crying? What was that dream?

"Weiss?" A soft, high-pitched voice called to her from above, laced with concern. Weiss heard them gasp and then the follow of a thump to the floor. When she felt a hand gently touch her shoulder she looked up from her hands to see Ruby's worried gaze.

"Are you okay, Weiss?" Ruby whispered as she noticed the streak of tears down her friend's cheeks. Weiss sniffled as she wiped her face, nodding silently as she let out a soft sigh.

"It was just a bad dream, Ruby." The Schnee replied quietly, her expression downcast as she looked down at her hands.

Ruby seemed to notice the worried undertone in Weiss' voice for she leaned forward and pulled her friend into a tight hug. At the sudden gesture, Weiss sighed and returned her teammate's hug, lightly wrapping her arm around her waist.

"Thanks, Ruby."

"Of course, Weiss."

"Is Weiss okay?" Came the sound from the other bunk bed over. Weiss and Ruby glanced over to see Blake and Yang up and alert at the sight of their friend looking distraught.

"I-I'm okay. It was just a bad dream...about my sister." Weiss softened her voice towards the end, unsure herself of what she had just seen.

"About your sister?" Yang inquired as she jumped down from her bed, Blake standing up to go to Weiss' side as well.

"Maybe you should give her a call. You've been writing her letters haven't you? Has she responded to any of them yet?" Blake offered as she leaned against the bed frame of Ruby and Weiss' bunk. At the suggestion, Weiss looked at her teammates in bewilderment before shaking her head slowly.

"No...she hasn't replied to them. But she usually doesn't...besides, I'm sure she's too busy to even take my calls." Weiss hesitantly said, her gaze wandered over to her desk of lined paper where she wrote her letters to Winter.

"No sister doesn't have time for her sibling!" Ruby countered with a bright cherry grin, Weiss meeting her gaze for a moment before returning her smile with a small one.

"Winter is...always busy though."

"Well, after having a bad dream like you did, wouldn't you want to hear your sister's voice?" Yang asked as she tilted her head to the side and crossed her arms.

Weiss remained silent in contemplation before she glanced at the window to see the rays of the sunrise beginning to streak in. For a moment, Team RWBY basked in the sunrise for a while, feeling comfort in the light of a new day.

* * *

Winter stood at one of the many fountains near her living quarters, staring down into it with a frown. The water was a vibrant orange red - the sunrise reflected inside it. She had her hands by her sides, Weiss' letter from before held by her fingertips. She prayed that her younger sister was well. Having woken up earlier that morning with a feeling of unease had kept her mind worried, resulting in Winter taking a stroll outside to breathe.

Winter wanted to speak to her sister, but how? They never usually called each other and Weiss only recently began sending her letters. The action to suddenly reach out to Weiss sent Winter's mind spinning. She wasn't used to being so forward. That was not how she had been raised. But lately, ever since Qrow stumbled into Winter's life and said the things he said, she could not cease her thinking of being a better sister to Weiss.

She thought about Qrow and how close his relationship to his nieces were. They bantered playfully and encouraged each other constantly. They showed the warmth and closeness that Winter saw die the moment their mother passed. The sudden remembrance of her mother sullened her mood - heart aching.

"What would Qrow do?" Winter thought aloud.

"You called?"

Unperturbed, Winter turned on her heel to see Qrow casually drinking not from his flask but from a thermos. The smell of coffee invaded her senses as Winter registered that for once, the man was drinking something other than alcohol. When Qrow noticed her peculiar stare, he lifted an eyebrow in questioning.

"Ah, this? I ran out of alcohol last night so..." Qrow explained as he eyed the thermos' contents skeptically.

"It did not occur to me that you could drink anything other than alcohol. Given your title." Winter stated as a hint of a smirk appeared.

"Oh yeah? What title?"

"An alcoholic."

Qrow choked on his coffee at the statement, Winter scoffing as he coughed.

"I am _not_ an alcoholic! I just drink _sometimes_!" Qrow defended, his arms waving in emphasis.

"Please, and why do you drink so much sometimes?" Winter said with a roll of her eyes, crossing her arms.

"Forget about it. Anyway, what were you saying about me? About what I would do?" Qrow deflected, clearing his throat as he shifted his weight. His gaze wandered towards the folded letter in Winter's hand.

"It's nothing of your concern. Why you haven't left Atlas yet?" Winter asked while she stepped away from the fountain, slowly making her way back to her quarters. It surprised her when he fell into step with her, slouching as he walked.

"Jimmy offered to let me stay for a bit. So I took it and here we are. Come on Schnee, you wouldn't have said your thoughts out loud if it wasn't important."

Qrow's words made Winter gradually stop. For a moment, the fist in her gut returned and she almost gagged at how dry her throat got. The Branwen seemed to sense her shift in demeanor for he capped his thermos and turned his full attention onto the Schnee.

"Winter?" Qrow asked as he crossed his arms, an expectant expression on his face.

With a long sigh, Winter gave in.

"How exactly do you .. effectively communicate with your nieces?" Winter finally said, unable to believe she just asked her somewhat rival for assistance.

"Uh...come again?"

"...how are you so warm with your family? With Ruby and Yang?" Winter spelled out, gritting her teeth at the thought of having to repeat her question.

"What do you mean? We just...are?" Qrow said with a shrug, unable to make sense of what the Schnee was asking. Winter let out a huff of frustration, hearing Qrow's "okay okay, hold on".

"I mean...I tease them, play around with them, let them know I'm there for them..."

"I already do that with Weiss. How is my dynamic with her so different from yours?"

Qrow gaped at Winter's sentence taking in her confused expression.

"So you _have_ been thinking about what I said!" He pointed with a laugh, Winter growling in annoyance.

"Qrow!"

"Okay, fine! Well .." He trailed off with a hand messing with his stubble. "Maybe because you grew up with a different way of showing how you feel. For us, we were always vocal about how we felt."

"I see. We..." Winter trailed off with a conflicted look in her eyes, her gaze down to the ground. "...had that once."

"Once?" Qrow echoed, catching the wall that he'd seen Winter put up all the times he'd seen her come down for a moment. It surprised him when the intensity of Winter's emotions reflected in her eyes.

Before she could say anything, her scroll began to ring causing her to pull it out. Her wall went back up too.

When she saw who it was, she glanced up at Qrow who nodded and gestured for her to shoo. A quiet "excuse me" and a couple paces away later, Winter answered the call nervously.

"...Hello?"

"Hi...Winter."

"Weiss?"

* * *

 **This chapter came out a bit different than what I had in my head, but I'm glad to see how it developed! And with that, I believe that I have completed the suggestion I have received to the best of my ability! (I think I'll still incorporate parts of that request in the next chapter however haha)**

 **I hope you enjoyed the read! Drop me anything else and I'll attempt to weave it in to my writing and with the ideas I've got!**

 **Let me know what you think.**


	7. Chapter 7

"I'm so sorry, ma'am!" A White Fang member profusely lamented, head bowed in shame.

"Man, you said that they really did a number on you guys?" A silver haired man remarked, whistling at the damage done to what was previously the office.

"Quiet, Mercury. I need to hear." Came the soft, edge like voice from behind the man. The woman's heeled steps were slow and calculated as she moved around the man, a devious smile on her lips.

"Now, what did you say they looked like again?"

* * *

At the sound of Winter's sudden surprised tone, Qrow's ears pricked as his curiosity got the best of him. He glanced over to the Schnee to see her eyebrows furrowed, eyes boring holes into the smooth white pavement. When Winter caught his stare, she turned away from him, fully facing away from the Branwen to which he shrugged off.

He stared down at his empty thermos, having gulped its contents as Winter had walked away to take her call. Coffee wasn't worth it, Qrow realized. Screw his morning mentality of trying to stay away from alcohol for once.

Maybe it was the pristine, flawless look of Atlas that influenced him to make some coffee instead of going out to the nearest bar so early in the morning. Being a professional Huntsman, the nightmares were an added plus that kept him up when he woke before dawn. His past morning self stupidly made a cup of coffee and poured it into a convenient thermos that was in his temporary room and walked out with the hope of meeting anyone to talk to.

All to stay away from thinking of the horrors his mind plagued him with.

It was there, standing at the door of the dormitories where he saw Winter Schnee. Standing in front of one of the fountains all by her lonesome. Not that he would ever mention it to her face, but when Qrow saw the sunlight's rays hit the fountain and illuminate her form he could've sworn he saw something ethereal yet lonely.

And then they were actually conversing, like normal people would. It was something Qrow found surprising - that the two firecrackers of Vale and Atlas could be civil for once.

Back in the present, Qrow fiddled with the rings around his fingers as his thoughts wandered. Could he call what was developing between him and the Schnee a friendship? A rivalry? He shook his head as he too couldn't wrap his head around it - even though he had brought up the topic the night before. For now, he'd like to think they were civil enough to not be at each other's throats 24/7.

When he glanced up to see how Winter was doing, he saw that she was still intently conversing with whoever it was.

So back to his thoughts he went.

Before Winter had picked up the call, Qrow had gotten a momentary glimpse of how the woman was really feeling. The wave of emotions that swirled in her expression had spoken volumes about their conversation before - reaching out to Weiss. Winter had said "once" in such a melancholy voice, which piqued Qrow's attention. And after mulling over it for a moment the thought finally hit him hard.

The previous face of the Schnee Dust Company was their mother. He remembered when there was huge news of the woman passing and how it shook the Schnee name. The face of Jacques Schnee then emerged, his white mustache and stern gaze dampening Qrow's mood. He had heard rumors...of the Schnee family expecting their children to be absolutely perfect.

Perfect to the point of being beaten down.

The thought of a person making the choice to do such a thing made Qrow clench his jaw. It wasn't hard to figure out why Winter had responded the way she did now. Qrow's gaze lifted back to the Schnee's back, seeing it ramrod straight and proper and noticed that her posture had not even wilted despite the turmoil of emotions he had seen. The amount of discipline and authority Winter must have faced...even before she joined the Atlesian military made Qrow's mind reel.

The sound of approaching footsteps disrupted Qrow's thoughts. He saw a small smile on Winter's lips as she pocketed her scroll.

"What're you smiling about, Ice Queen?"

"Weiss...she called me just now." Winter replied, fighting the smile that was on her face.

"And that's supposed to mean..."

Winter's smile slid from her lips as she rolled her eyes and kicked the man in the shin.

"It means that it was important because we've never been able to call each other, you dingus." Winter insulted as Qrow rubbed the affected area, pouting. "But..."

At the hesitation, Qrow looked up to see Winter's concerned expression back on again.

"Qrow...she said she saw me disappear. In her dream."

* * *

 _"Oh, don't worry about it, Ice Queen. You'll be fine. I'm sure that dream could mean anything." Qrow said with a cross of his arms._

 _"And_ why _should I believe your words, Qrow?" Winter stated as she gave him a glance of distrust._

 _"Because we're friends?"_

 _"Not even close."_

 _"Oh, come on!"_

 _Winter let out a soft chuckle as she watched Qrow sulk, giving her a glare every now and then in a childish way._

* * *

Winter gasped awake, her eyes blown wide as everything flooded her senses at once: The smell of smoke, the sound of an alarm blaring, and the blaze of white hot pain coursing through her leg. She blinked away the tears that developed from the smoke and moved to sit up, letting out a pained noise as she stared at the jagged piece of metal jutting out from the side of her thigh. Adrenaline pumped through her veins as Winter scanned the area, catching the slumped body of the pilot in his seat at the cockpit.

As she tried to piece together what happened, Winter registered she was still sitting inside the burning airship and attempted to stand. When her leg screamed in protest, Winter doubled over in pain as she panted, her eyes seeing white for a moment. Using what was left of the wall beside her for support, Winter grimaced as she examined the metal impaling her thigh and immediately tapped into her aura. She reached a shaky hand down to the metal, internally cursing to herself at how painful this would still be even with the help of her aura, and took hold of the end with one gloved hand.

"One...two..." Winter whispered to herself before clenching her jaw on "three", yanking the piece out and throwing it to the side.

Winter instantly put up her aura to help with the wound, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt any less. So she let out a grunt of pain when she felt like honestly screaming and stumbled out of the airship, falling to the ground. Feeling like she would pass out any minute, Winter made a move to grab her scroll when she suddenly felt the heavy pressure of malicious intent and stiffened. Her senses awakened at the possibility of a threat.

Winter had no idea where she was, how she got there, and now there was the possibility of a hoard of Grimm attacking.

"Weiss..." Winter muttered as she shifted her feet under her, a hand reaching for her sword. She prayed that Weiss' warning of a dream would not come true before she left for this mission - even banking on Qrow's reassuring words.

But as the shadows of figures started to emerge and they began to resemble forms of humans and _not_ Grimm, Winter felt like she caught a stroke of bad luck.

* * *

 **hello! It's been a couple days since the last update! Hope you enjoyed this chapter! I can understand if there's some confusion but all will be cleared up soon! :)**

 **Thank you for reading! Let me know your thoughts!**


	8. Chapter 8

"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby and Yang cried out as they sprinted towards their favorite uncle. The man in question froze at the sight of his two nieces running at full speed towards him and put his hands out to stop them.

As the girls barreled into him, they all let out a laugh of joy while Qrow hugged them close. He gazed up at Beacon Academy behind them, welcoming it's magnificent structure into his sights. Atlas could never compare to this. Pulling away, Qrow grinned down at his nieces to see them beaming back up at him.

"Did you bring us anything?" Ruby feverishly asked, her eyes shining with excitement. She had her hands in fists all the while jumping up and down ecstatically.

"Bring you anything? Now why would I do that?" Qrow mockingly asked as Yang let out a bark of a laugh, punching him in the arm.

"C'mon, Uncle Qrow. Cough 'em up. We know you went to Atlas." Yang pushed as she stretched out her hand expectantly, a wide grin on her lips. Qrow stared at her, appalled, about to ask how she knew when heard voices behind them.

Of course. Weiss.

The younger Schnee and their faunas friend Blake were walking towards them with curious looks in their eyes. Qrow rolled his eyes as he groaned in defeat, fishing his souvenirs from his pocket and dropping them into the hands of his nieces. As their attention moved to the small trinkets, Qrow met Weiss' gaze and approached her, his hand reaching into his coat for the envelope.

"Ice Princess, right?" He said with an arched brow, hearing Ruby's "Uncle Qrow!" from behind.

"It's Weiss." The white haired huntress in training, grumbled back with a cross of her arms.

"I don't really care. Here." Qrow deadpanned as he handed the Schnee the crisp white envelope that had her name so neatly written on the front. At the sight of a letter, Weiss' eyes grew wide as she let out a gasp. With careful hands, Weiss turned the letter over in her hands as she gazed down at it in disbelief.

"Is this from...?"

"From Winter, that's right."

Seeing Weiss break into a wide smile, Qrow grinned as Ruby and Yang flocked to their teammate's side, pestering her to open it. Blake was trying to peep over Weiss' shoulder, unsuccessfully as Weiss kept dodging out of everyone's way with a mocking look of anger on her face.

Qrow had stayed for a few more days in Atlas after the whole warehouse fiasco with Winter. It was there that Winter eventually spilled to him that she had been trying to write back to Weiss, unsure of where to begin. Albeit, how Qrow had gotten to finally get Winter to reveal her problem was simply a manner of invading her personal space and annoying her to no ends to talk to him. So, in the course of the few days he had stayed in Atlas, he "guided" Winter on how to effectively write back to her sister.

"Guided" being more of a yelling match between the two.

Besides that, Winter was able to craft a letter to which she asked Qrow to give to Weiss when he finally returned to Beacon. That was before she had left for yet another mission given by 'ol Jimmy. At the sound of a relieved sigh, Qrow turned his head to see Ruby patting Weiss' back consolingly.

"See? She's okay! There's nothing to worry about, Weiss." Ruby cheerfully said as Yang rubbed the top of her head, Blake patting her shoulder on the side.

"Yeah, that other dream was nothing!" Blake reassured with a nod.

Qrow stilled at the mention of a dream.

"What's going on?" He asked as he faced Team RWBY, a queasy feeling striking his heart as a thought of something dark suddenly began to grow.

"Oh, Weiss said that she had another bad dream about Winter the other day. But since you gave the letter from Winter, I'm sure she's just fine!" Ruby clarified as she most likely saw Qrow's expression shift at her sentence.

"Wait, hold on...a bad dream?"

* * *

The ticking sound of the clock filled James Ironwood's ears. He stood there at his desk with a deep frown on his lips, the hand that was gripping his phone turned white. A look of apprehension was in his eyes as he stared off into nowhere, what one of his officers had said to him moments ago still in his ears.

 _"We've received reports that the cargo ship Ms. Schnee was on has crashed. We're sending a team out to investigate at this moment."_

He couldn't believe what he was hearing when he first heard the call. Winter of all people, crashing?

Impossible.

And yet...a part of him wondered why he hadn't received any sort of contact in regards to the crash. Had Winter really been in trouble?

James sighed to himself as he placed a hand to his forehead, the fist of anxiety in his gut refusing to give way. His mind was running a mile a minute at the disappearance of his specialist, only snapping out of it when the phone in his hand vibrated - making him jump.

At the sight of who was calling, the General let out a grumble and picked up the call.

"Qrow?" James gruffly greeted, leaning against the side of his desk. His steel eyed gaze landed on his bookshelves, focusing on nothing in particular.

"Hello to you too, Jimmy." came Qrow's reply.

"What brings you to call, Qrow?"

"Whoa, now hold on. Why the smart tone, Ironwood? Can't I just check in once in a while?"

James rolled his eyes in that moment as he knew the man wasn't calling for a simple hello.

"I just saw you 3 days ago, Branwen. What's the real reason?"

There was a heavy pause on the other line. It made the fist in James' gut only seem to get tighter.

"Well...how's the Schnee doing?"

* * *

Winter stared down at her scuffed boots in silence, her sharp gaze inspecting each and every crease present. At the sound of something dripping, she saw the splotch of blood that was slowly growing in the cross of the laces in one of her boots.

Ah, that's right. She was bleeding.

Suddenly a finger rested beneath her chin and abruptly forced her gaze up. When icy blue eyes clashed with the orange embers in front of her, Winter couldn't help but frown. This woman in front of her was something else. With the coy look in her eye and the vibrant red of her dress, Winter knew that this individual was not someone to be reckoned with.

Well, neither was she.

"Had enough yet?" Winter quietly said. She attempted to move her head away but was stopped when the woman's hands held her face still.

"Hmm...you have quite the endurance." The black haired woman with the flaming eyes quietly uttered, examining the various cuts and bruises sprinkled across Winter's face.

"What else can you expect?" Winter dared with a smirk, catching the way Cinder's eyes narrowed.

"We'll see." Cinder said as she stepped away from Winter, a small smile on her lips. She turned her head to the side as she crossed her arms, a glance of her ember eyes sent over her shoulder.

"Emerald. Mercury. You're up."

Winter glowered at the sight of her two lackeys appearing from behind the woman. They both held dark, sinister grins that made Winter's blood run cold, which couldn't be a good sign. The Schnee cursed to herself as she glared at the the retreating back of the woman who held her hostage. A figure clad in a soft green blocked her view, causing Winter to glance up to see the young girl named Emerald sneering down at her.

"Do your worst." Winter stated as she set a frown on her lips, her vision wavering for a moment at the pull fatigue.

Winter had a hunch that those who shot down her carrier had been these people. Once she had prepared to confront them after the crash and witnessed the woman who's name was now Cinder emerge from the brush, did she feel like she had truly stepped into something wrong. They were working with the White Fang, that much Winter knew for certain. But to personally shoot down an aircraft that they somehow knew had the Atlas specialist aboard?

There was more to this than meets the eye.

Winter had thought to go up against Cinder, but was quick to realize how fatal a mistake that would be. With the hole from fragment of shrapnel and the display of Cinder's "magic", Winter easily knew what would happen if she had. She had reached for her scroll in an attempt to silently ping the General, when a hand grabbed her wrist and shoved her to the ground, pinning her arm. She hadn't seen where her scroll had fallen but now, sitting in her small cell room alone, Winter was sure that those of the White Fang had it by now.

The Schnee rubbed the bruised area of her wrists where the ropes once were as she sat against the wall. After another attempt of getting her to talk about her reasoning for presence at that one warehouse, she was thrown the small bleak cell that was her temporary "home". Winter stared at the smear of blood on the tile and recalled how she laid there in silence from the exhaustion and pain she had endured through the first day.

She had been in this cell for a couple days now and had wondered throughout what these people could possibly want from her? Why would they want to know who she and Qrow were? What could they possibly gain by holding her captive?

Winter had wracked her brain for answers, all the while trying to keep the recurring violent illusions that Emerald created of Weiss from seeping into her thoughts.

With the thoughts and questions she'd created over her stay, Winter finally had some faces and names to speak about to the General once she made her return. There had to be someone within their ranks that had revealed the location of her carrier. She needed to make it known to the General of this news, and to break out of here before it was too late.

Letting out a deep breath, Winter opened her eyes and gazed down at her dirtied hands - the gloves long gone. With a furrowed brow of concentration, in her right hand ever so slightly came the familiar blue glow of a glyph beginning to form.

* * *

 **Hey loves! Long time no see huh? Hope you've all been well! Sorry it's taken me a while to get this one out! I've been so busy with classes and dance since the start of the semester oops.**

 **Anyway, enjoy the read! Let me know your thoughts.**


	9. Chapter 9

_[A few hours earlier]_

 _Winter...crashed?_

Weiss pressed her lips in a firm line as she stared down hard at the concrete ground. Clenching her fists hard at what she just heard, her knuckles turned white as a burning anger came to life within her. She couldn't just stay here. Not after what she had just heard.

"I'm going with you." Weiss stated as she lifted her head and met Ruby's Uncle Qrow gaze straight on. Seeing his blink of confusion, Weiss let out a huff before taking a step forward.

"I _said_ that I'm going with you. To find Winter."

Qrow tilted his head while he pocketed his scroll, a brow curiously raised. He certainly hadn't expected to see anger in the Ice Princess' eyes at that moment. It really brought a flash of Winter in front of him for a second.

"Okay, Ice Princess. What makes you think that I'm going to search for your sister? What if Ironwood already found her at this point? What -"

"I don't care. I'm _going_."

The sheer weight and tone of Weiss' words caught everyone off guard, making the remaining members of Team RWBY to glance at the Schnee. Qrow only blinked again in speechlessness before shaking himself free, letting out a small scoff.

"So...you have a little fire in you after all. Well...since I do like getting on ol' Jimmy's nerves, I'll bring you along - only on one condition." Qrow said as he lifted a finger, watching the rest of the girls' expressions shift at his tone.

"I _only_ bring Weiss."

 _"What!?"_ came the chorus from the rest of Team RWBY. Yang stepped forward and placed her hands on her hips, looking ready to fight. Ruby had a wide eyed incredulous look on her face, while Blake's ears were drooping in what was likely disappointment.

"You can't just take Weiss and not the rest of us, Uncle Qrow. We're a team." Yang argued as she looked up at the older man.

"Don't you think I know that? What do you think would happen if all of you were to get hurt? Or even worse, end up dead?" Qrow retorted with a furrow of his brow. He didn't like this grim situation just as much as they did.

Yang looked like she was about to retort when Weiss put a hand on her arm. The yellow haired firecracker glanced at her in confusion, while Weiss shook her head.

"It's okay, guys. I'll go." Weiss said as she turned to her friends, Qrow nodding to the Schnee in response. "We'll make sure to find her."

* * *

It had to happen now. No more waiting.

Winter sat in her cell with her eyes shut, taking deep breaths in order to calm herself. She needed to make it out of this place alive in order to see Weiss again.

No matter the cost.

She had managed to save most of her aura during stay in this compound, but the physical exhaustion of not fully resting was gradually eating at her. The constant fiery ache in her injured thigh kept her awake for most of the time, her aura only able to contribute so much to the healing process. It was draining, but Winter didn't have any more time. Those of the White Fang knew she would never speak about the incident at the warehouse, no matter how much they pried - due to her training and _because_ they're unable to gather any information, Winter could already guess what they would do to her later.

1) They could kill her and close that chapter of her life.

2) They could ransom her to her father and who knows what kind of mess that would be.

So, she needed to leave.

Winter opened her eyes as she heard a set of approaching footsteps - knowing that it was a guard checking in on her. As her nerves buzzed with anxiety, she pulled herself up and removed her jacket, grabbing both ends to act as a rope. She carefully stepped in front of the door, adrenaline pumping through her blood at the thought of her plan beginning. She knew that there were CCTV cameras everywhere in that hallway the guard was walking in so she needed to get the guard into her room. As she heard the lock begin to turn, Winter sucked in a breath and turned her back to the door, her jacket wrapped up in her arms.

The door opened and she heard the guard pull the key out of the lock.

"Rise and shine, Schnee. It's time for another session." The guard greeted with a sneer from behind. Winter chose not to respond, prompting a sharp "Hey!" from the man.

She heard him take a couple steps toward her and the sound of the door closing.

It was now or never.

Winter whirled around just as she felt the guard's hand reach for her shoulder, and with the blood roaring in her ears, threw her jacket into his face, a fist already coming from below to slam into his stomach. As she felt him stiffen and go limp, Winter shifted to catch his body, carefully setting him down as she began to remove his gear swiftly. Removing the guard's helmet, she froze to see the face of a young man with faunas features. He looked so young and yet here he was, in an organization that truly wanted who knows what other than equality.

Shaking her thoughts away, Winter quickly put on the guard's gear over her torn uniform, completely aware of the time before suspicions arose. Of course those watching the cameras would be alerted the moment she left the cell without an accompanying Schnee, but at this point she would rather have some type of armor than no armor at all. She had no idea where her sword and scroll were and did not want to waste time trying to find them during her escape.

With a sharp exhale, Winter slipped on the guard's helmet and opened the door to step out into the hallway.

Scanning her left and right, Winter noted thankfully that no one had come running hot on her tail just yet. She wanted to exert as little energy as possible, but given her predicament, it was highly unlikely that would happen. After rounding a couple corners, the Schnee made it to a clearing where most of the White Fang were milling about giving orders and fulfilling those orders. Winter's gaze darted from soldier to soldier as she waited for _any_ sign that she had been made.

Luckily nothing happened as she crossed the area, spotting a diagram with shapes vaguely representing the layout of the building. Upon a closer look, Winter confirmed that it was indeed a map and took note of her current location and any possible exits. With a memorized glance of the map, she was about to continue down through the hall when someone cleared their throat behind her.

She felt her blood go cold when she recognized the intensity of Cinder's stare that was at the back of her head. With her brain screaming at her to _run_ , Winter did just the opposite and turned around to meet the woman's gaze behind the helmet.

* * *

 _"We'll find her, okay?"_ _Qrow reassured as he gazed down at Weiss' worried expression. They both stood at the edge of the city that Ironwood stated was where the carrier was last seen. After his insistent pestering of Winter's last location, Ironwood begrudgingly handed it over, informing Qrow that there was already a search team on the ground._

 _"She's got to be around here somewhere." Weiss quietly said as her concerned gaze flicked towards the city. Seeing the obviously distressed Schnee, Qrow's uncle instincts kicked in just as they usually do with his nieces, making him put a hand on her shoulder gently._

 _"She will be. Don't worry, Weiss."_

The two of them split up within the city with other soldiers from Atlas tagging along, desperate to find the specialist as soon as they could. Qrow had walked around for a bit, asking if anyone had seen the appearance of Winter, only to come up with nothing. He paused in the middle of the cobblestone street, his gaze up to the cloudy sky when his eyes widened with an idea.

Glancing around, Qrow let out a small sound of victory when he spotted a not so crowded alleyway and made way for it. Within a second Qrow was up in the air transformed as he rose higher and higher to catch a view of most of the city. Gray pointed structures greeted him as he flew around hoping for any sign of a skirmish.

Because if there was a disturbance, there had to be a Schnee there. Knowing her enough she would probably try to escape as stealthily as she could, only to have it blow up in her face by some pure chance.

Or in this case by Qrow's semblance.

Which is exactly what happened.

At the sound of an explosion nearing the opposite end of the city Qrow was on, he let out a squawk as he turned his head and veered straight for the commotion. The smoke he spotted only made the feeling of unease within him intensify. As he got closer to the source, he noticed it was some small type of shop that was going up in flames. Qrow swooped to yet another alleyway and came out of the shadows stumbling, trying to get by the citizens who were beginning to crowd and wonder what was going on. Upon seeing damage, he asked the citizens around him to step away to avoid getting hurt and glanced over his shoulder to spot a group of people huddled near the ground.

Qrow rushed over to the huddle with his heart in his throat.

There was a body collapsed on the ground that seemed to be dressed in the armor of the White Fang. As he stepped closer, he could see that some of the armor was blackened as if it were singed with direct fire. Qrow's hands grew cold when he noticed the familiar stark white hair that was dirtied, peeking out from underneath the damaged helmet and instantly knelt down, his hands already working to carefully remove the helmet.

"Winter..." Qrow said with a breath of disbelief as he stared down at Schnee's bloodied face. Upon checking her breathing and finding that she was thankfully alive, he was about to pull out his scroll to call Weiss when he heard rapid approaching footsteps.

"Hey! Did you-?!" Weiss' words cut off as she stopped next to him, her eyes already on who they had been looking for. "Oh gods, Winter!"

Weiss fell to her knees when she took in the sight of her sister, a choked sob escaping her lips as she carefully held her sister's hand. Qrow glanced around to see the search team that Ironwood had placed arriving quickly, hearing them order for a medical team along with other orders being shouted.

"Who did this to her?" Weiss shakily said, Qrow's attention turned back to the sisters. He blinked, caught off guard when he saw that there was a flicker of anger behind her tears. Qrow shook his head as he glanced down at Winter, only wondering the same.

"I've got a few hunches."

* * *

 _She felt her blood go cold when she recognized the intensity of Cinder's stare that was at the back of her head. With her brain screaming at her to run, Winter did just the opposite and turned around to meet the woman's gaze behind the helmet._

 _"Well, well...to think you would actually attempt something as foolish as this?" Cinder said with a dissatisfied frown on her lips. Next to her were Emerald and Mercury, grinning mercilessly with a cross of their arms._

 _Winter gritted her teeth at her situation, her hands balling into fists as she remained silent. She prayed to the gods that Cinder was only joking with this confrontation and would walk away, but when Cinder gave Winter a small wry smile, she knew this was no joke. Winter knew that she could not face all three of them at once, given her condition - she was in no shape to really fight at all - but if this woman refuses to release her she would have no choice._

 _"I'm leaving and I will bring whatever is happening here, down." Winter stated as she stared hard at Cinder, every nerve in her body on high alert at the threat._

 _"Oh? And what makes you think you'll leave this place?" Emerald spat back as she took a step forward with a brow raised and a cocky smile on her lips._

 _"Emerald, please." Cinder said with a hand up in the air, stopping the woman next to her from taking another step. "If Ms. Schnee wants to leave so badly..."_

 _Winter swallowed nervously at the condescending tone and widened her eyes when she saw Cinder's eyes become covered in flames._

 _"Let's give her a parting gift, shall we?" Cinder said with a smile as she raised a hand, the small ball of fire that formed steadily growing larger._

 _Winter's instinct to run kicked in just as Emerald went to work with her illusions, Mercury ran at her, and Cinder launched a massive blaze of fire in her direction. All Winter could see and feel were the flames that were magically coming from Cinder's hands before everything went dark._

Winter jolted awake at the lingering feeling of flames and found herself staring up at the darkened ceiling of what seemed to be a medical room. The consistent beeping on the heart monitor and the smell of the room invaded her senses as all that happened to her came back to hit her like a truck. Raising a hand to her head, she stopped when she saw the entirety of her right arm bandaged. The feeling of flames lick at the skin underneath the bandages, Winter bit her lip as she reminded herself that the fight was over and that she was safe.

Glancing around on her back, Winter spotted Weiss' slumped on the chair next to her with a blanket draped over her shoulders. She breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of her sister and moved to sit up, needing to use the restroom. As she threw the covers back, Winter noted the bandaged area of her thigh where the hole was and carefully put her good leg down, the coolness of the tile spreading throughout her foot. Just as she slowly slid off of the bed, the door to her room quietly opened causing her to glance up.

Upon meeting Qrow's surprised gaze, Winter put a finger to her lips as she remembered Weiss' sleeping form and reached for the crutch that was laid next to her bed. As she made her way over to the entrance of the door, she was so winded she didn't shy away from Qrow assisting her to the benches out in the hall. Once seated, Winter let out a pained sigh and leaned her head against the tile, eyes shut. She could feel Qrow's stare in that moment of silence, and was about to say something when he went first.

"I didn't think you would be awake so soon, Ice Queen." came Qrow's greeting as he swirled a cup of coffee in his hands.

"Neither did I, but here I am." Winter replied as she opened her eyes and glanced over to the Branwen, seeing his gaze on her bandaged hands. When Winter said his name, Qrow's eyes darted up to hers and once again for the first time in a while - hazy red eyes locked with exhausted stark blue ones.

"I..." Winter hesitated as her mind ran a mile a minute, flooded with too many words to say. She could assume what had happened given her disappearance along with Qrow and Weiss' presence in Atlas.

"I know what you're gonna say: 'Again, Qrow? How did you end up here again? What sorcery!'" Qrow jokingly teased as he tried to lighten the mood the best he could. The corners of his eyes crinkled as he attempted a smile, but when he caught Winter's empty attempt of a response, did he drop the act.

"Weiss and I found you unconscious in the city your carrier was headed to. You were dressed in clothes that the White Fang wear, with injuries that were really bad..."

Winter focused on her bandaged _everything_ before she tore her gaze away and looked up to Qrow's patient expression. Upon sitting in silence with Winter staring at Qrow's expression for a few moments, the Schnee let out a sharp sigh and shook her head as her jostled mind gradually cleared up and the words she wanted to say surfaced.

"It _was_ bad, Qrow. Not to mention with a hole in the side of my leg as well. But I made it out - possibly by pure luck, who knows." Winter began as she tried to make light of the situation. When she saw Qrow quirk an eyebrow in response, she took that as a sign to continue.

"There's a lot I need to say that involves you and the General with what's happened, but for now I'll just..." Winter trailed off as the confidence to say the words she needed to say dissipated - having never admitted such a thing.

A hand gently gripped her shoulder, causing her to glance up to meet Qrow's curious gaze.

Unfamiliar with how to approach this, Winter rolled her eyes and leaned forward, wrapping her good arm around Qrow's back to pull him into a hug. She was met with a stiffened response as he let out a surprised "uh..." before Winter let herself smile for a moment.

"You're a good person, Qrow. And an even greater friend. Thank you for going with Weiss and for finding me." Winter said as she pulled away, catching Qrow's dazed blinking at the sudden words. Upon processing her use of the word _friend_ , he broke out into a grin as he raised his cup of coffee towards her, taking a sip.

"No problem, Ice Queen."

* * *

 **Hey guys! This chapter's a bit longer than usual!** **Hope you enjoyed the read.**

 **I've got a couple thoughts floating around regarding this story since it seems to be headed down a path of an actual plot line. I have recently been thinking of straying away from having this story develop into one with a full plot and sticking to snippet based chapters.**

 **What are your thoughts? I'll be thinking it over for a minute.**


	10. Chapter 10

It had been a few weeks since Winter's disappearance and the following talk that the two of them had. Once Winter had gained enough energy to once function, she had gone straight to the General and reported her findings while she had been captured. That is, not before Ironwood himself broke his rank and pulled the young woman into swift, relieved embrace - sending Winter into a confused but understanding frenzy.

After recovering, Winter dove straight into the details and revealed of the possibility of a mole within their ranks. Ironwood processed this information and shook himself from his surprised stupor, ordering Winter to look into it as covertly as possible, stating that he would do the same. They needed to find who leaked confidential information to those within the White Fang, and quickly, not knowing what other vital information they held. They could be planning an all out attack for all they knew.

Weiss too had broken her usual affection restrained self and launched herself at Winter once she had woken up following Winter and Qrow's conversation. Winter had gently hugged her sister in return, the warmth in her heart blossoming at how she was able to better express how she felt than those months ago. Winter wasn't sure if the universe had looked out for her or if the moons had aligned to have allowed her to go on that mission with Qrow, but she was grateful.

The man had given her a small nudge of advice, only to have it cascade into Winter's entire lifestyle.

Winter had felt more alive and connected to those around her in these past few months than most of her life.

And so Winter being Winter, she knew she had to do something about this feeling of gratuity. Or else it would begin to eat her alive. The Schnee sighed to herself and pulled out her scroll, dialing Qrow's number. There was no doubt that the huntsman was busy (as was she), since the White Fang have begun creating more bumps in the road and the fact that there was still the matter of the mole within her ranks to sort out. Yet on the third ring, Winter was surprised to hear Qrow's drawl of a "Why hello" in her ear. His way of greeting almost put a smile on her lips.

"And to think that you aren't yet dead in a ditch somewhere astonishes me." Winter said as she leaned against one of the pillars of Atlas Academy. A smirk tugged at the corner of her mouth.

"Wow. How hurtful, Ice Queen. I did _not_ answer this seemingly important phone call from you, only to get insulted." Qrow quipped back, the shit-eating grin on his face already visible in Winter's mind.

"One jab from me and you're already down, Qrow? How disappointing."

His usual hearty chuckle replied, for a moment sounding strangely _musical_ in her otherwise silent world in Atlas, before it died down.

"Alright, Winter. What's really on your mind, huh?"

Winter blinked in silence, realizing she had for once in her life _not_ come up with a proper plan for this gratuitous situation. Her mind was scrambling for words like _how the hell was she supposed to show her thanks_ when she began to note that there was this insistent _noise_ in her ear.

"-ooooo?" Qrow's voice suddenly came in, an exaggerated extension of the word "hello" being spoken into her receiver. "Geez, you must really be piled up to your brain with work if you can't even hold a conversation." His words were meant for teasing but Winter could make out the hint of slight concern underneath. It was moments like these that she was reminded of their companionship.

Gathering her senses and shaking herself awake, Winter cleared her throat and glanced up at the setting sky streaked with clouds. Her lips quirked into a small smile as a thought struck her.

"I have to give you something."

* * *

Qrow stared point blank towards Winter, his lips pursed in thought. She had found him in his natural habitat when he resided in Beacon - the downtown bar. It was a couple days out from her call to him, with Qrow peacefully having a drink with Winter's words from the phone call out of his mind. Until she came waltzing in to his drinking establishment with a hard look on her face. As he turned to greet her she proceeded to slam a bottle of who knows what on to the table.

"And...this is?" Qrow slowly inquired as his gaze slid from Winter's stare to the opaque, white bottle of what seemed to be a type of alcohol. Winter cleared her throat as she pulled herself into the seat next to Qrow, crossing her legs in front of her.

"This is a gift. The finest wine I currently have. Or rather, _had,_ the moment I placed it upon this table." Winter explained as she used a hand to push the bottle over to the Branwen, taking in his stupefied expression.

Qrow focused his gaze on the bottle and gently took in into his hands, reading its contents with scrutiny. Why was she giving him something like this? He was sure his furrowed brow of confusion gave his thoughts all away, but to make it worse, he could feel the Schnee's laser stare on him.

"This isn't a parting gift, is it?" He asked as his eyes narrowed to slits in suspicion, catching Winter's eye roll.

"Of course not. This is simply...a gift of _gratitude._ For what you did those weeks ago, and..." Winter trailed off suddenly, Qrow tilting his head in curiosity at the woman's hesitation. "...and as much as I hate to admit: for revealing to me what kind of sister I had been to Weiss."

He was silent as Winter finished, her words striking a chord with him for the nth time these past few months. When had someone other than his nieces been so thankful towards him? All he had ever brought to those around him was hurt, pain, and suffering. Now Winter was here genuinely _thanking_ him for the thousandth time? Call this cliche, but to him this already felt like a bad omen. One way or another, his form of semblance would do something truly evil to Winter the longer she hovered around him. And yet, he was the one to initiate their newly kindled friendship. What had he been thinking?

What was he doing, wallowing in his thoughts like this? He knew that Winter was perfectly capable of watching out for herself, so what could a few harmless tricks of his semblance do?

No. He was _not_ questioning his semblance right now. Even the thought of questioning it was giving him a horrible feeling of nausea inside him.

A gloved hand carefully touched his shoulder, breaking him from his reverie to see Winter's brow raised in interest.

"Right, of course. Anytime, Winter. Thanks for the gift, really." Qrow clipped out, no doubt his expression masked as he tried to shove down his emotions.

"What are you doing?" Winter asked, her voice cutting through his muddied state of mind for a second. "Is something wrong, Qrow?"

His darkened red gaze flicked up to meet Winter's and his mind's eye flickered through all possibilities of what his semblance could do to the specialist. Qrow let out a low growl to himself, for his thoughts to quit messing with his mind as they had been more frequently. He brought a hand up to his eyes as he let out a sigh and slowly shook his head.

"It's nothing. I'll tell you about it another time. C'mon." Qrow finally said as he rummaged in his pocket and plopped some lien onto the counter for the bartender. He made his way for the door, Winter's gift held by the neck in one hand with the woman herself trailing behind. Before Winter could open her mouth to ask anything, Qrow turned around and gave her a wry smile.

"I've got news for you."

* * *

Winter stepped into the elevator from Ozpin's office with a grim frown on her face. Qrow waltzed in after her, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed staring pointedly at her with a wide grin. When she saw his expression in the reflective surface of the metal, she had the urge to shove her fist into it.

"Can you believe it? A cute little school dance here at Beacon and _we_ get to be chaperones!"

"You seem to be forgetting the fact that the White Fang seem to have made their move again?! Is that not more concerning to you, Qrow?" Winter stated as she saw the man roll his eyes, pushing his fringe back.

"Why, of course! But we've gotta make sure the kids are safe, right?" Qrow drawled on, the sarcasm dripping off his tongue.

Winter's eye twitched as his tone, her fists clenching by her sides. She knew that somewhere deep down in that man's exterior that he too was worried about his nieces safety. Especially since Cinder was oh so interested in who the huntsman and specialist were. There is a chance that the White Fang could move on Beacon for the sake of petty revenge attached to a larger motive and the moment that thought surfaced in Winter's mind, her stomach twisted into a knot.

The elevator dinged as they reached the bottom floor. Both of them exited in silence, heading in the same direction without any words spoken. They kept pace with each other, faces set before they found themselves at the door of Team RWBY. And right as Winter was about to knock, the door was yanked open.

There stood Ruby, frozen with smile that was already growing as she laid her eyes on the both of them.

"Uncle Qrow!"

"Winter!"

Ruby and Weiss launched themselves towards their respective relative, Winter giving her sweet sister a smile as she hugged her. Qrow was barreled into with Ruby's body weight, ultimately being slammed into the floor.

"You're here for the event at Beacon, right?" Yang greeted as she fist bumped her uncle that was still being crushed by his niece.

"That's correct. We're here to supervise you all." Winter said as Weiss blinked up at her, a small smile on her lips.

"Supervise us? What you think we kids are gonna do something crazy?" Blake chimed in with a grin, her ears flicking.

"Oh, no nothing of the sort." Winter replied with a scoff, hoping that her joking demeanor was able to be seen. Judging by Blake's quiet chuckle, it worked.

"Oh shoot, guys! We have to go! Training is in a minute!" Weiss exclaimed, the other girls shrieking in surprise. After a quick "see you later!" Team RWBY zipped their way out of the room.

Winter took a step into the girls' room and marveled in its atmosphere. Surely, that bed cannot be stable. Is that dog hair on the floor? All of these books scattered about...

"I'm surprised you didn't mention the possible threat." Qrow started as he took a few steps forward and sat against the windowsill of the room. He placed his hands on the stone to support himself. Winter met his stare and turned away, sifting through Weiss' papers.

"They're young girls...it's only right to let them all not have to worry." Winter replied as a bitter feeling nestled its way into her heart. What she would give to not have to worry about every little thing. "Besides, we'll make sure everything runs smoothly."

Winter turned to see Qrow staring out of the window, a distant glint in his eyes.

"Right."

She frowned at his tone, feeling put off by it.

It didn't sound sure in the slightest.

* * *

 **Oho! Things are starting to move again! Hope you all are doing well! The end of my semester is approaching so I most likely won't have as much time to update, but we'll play it by ear!**

 **hope you enjoyed the read! let me know your thoughts!**


	11. Chapter 11

The party had gone to hell the moment it ended, the White Fang commencing their plan instantly. Cinder had appeared in the mass of students and cruelly announced that this would be the end of Beacon, shattering the windows and causing a frenzy for the students. Winter would've made for the woman who sauntered out of the building, but with a glance over to her sister's worried expression her priorities changed.

The students were given a choice: to board the airships that the General offered, or to fight for their lives in honor of the school. It had been obvious what Team RWBY's choice was. When the girls stared at Winter and Qrow hopefully, the both of them rolled their eyes.

"At this point, there's not much we can do to stop you." Qrow drawled as he pushed his fringe back.

"But stick together. If you need to separate, do so in pairs." Winter added, catching Qrow's glance towards her.

Once they went their way, Winter and Qrow headed for the source of the madness. They had both seen the monstrous dragon Grimm perch itself atop Beacon tower and was about to start for it when they stumbled upon students who were struggling against a hoard of Grimm. They were injured but still desperately fighting back.

"I'll handle this, get to the tower! I'll catch up!" Qrow yelled as he reached for his sword.

Winter sprinted for the tower without a second thought, the orange glow emanating from within the structure spurring her on. Whatever was happening, she and the other huntsmen had to put a stop to it. She used her glyphs to launch herself into the window where Cinder was and rolled into a crouch.

"To think I would see you again, Winter." Cinder greeted, her voice smooth and on the side of lilting. She held a satisfied look in her eyes as she stared down at the woman.

"I'm sorry, it appears that parting gift wasn't enough to keep me away from you." Winter retorted as a smirk slid on to her lips. She poised herself to a cautious stance, a hand clenching the hilt of her sword.

It seemed as though Winter's attempt to humor Cinder failed since her lips pulled into a frown of irritation. The dragon Grimm fussed above them, shaking the structure. Winter squinted at the noise, her gaze darting around quickly before returning to Cinder's form.

"Like I stated before, I will bring whatever is going on here down." Winter said as past conversations with Qrow surfaced. It pertained to the magic that embodied Cinder, and of tales the Schnee couldn't believe to be true - that is until Qrow transformed into a crow right in front of her eyes. He had seemed hesitant at first to share the sensitive information, given that not many would believe. But upon seeing his dark expression, Winter had no choice but to trust in his words.

Because what else could all this be except magic?

The Maidens were in fact real and all four academies each guarded a powerful, dangerous object known as a relic.

She had never seen Cinder hold a weapon or device of any kind that utilized Dust. The sheer heat of the fire that burned her felt a touch different than fire created by Dust. It had left a lasting effect on Winter, nightmares occasionally plaguing her in the night.

"Hm, what childish thinking. You think you can defeat the Fall Maiden?" A ball of fire appeared in her raised hand, Cinder's ember gaze taking a deadly glint.

"You're no Maiden. You're a sham." Winter growled as another tremor of the building jostled her. She didn't have time to wait for a response when the ceiling above her collapsed.

* * *

Winter gasped awake at the wave of pain that invaded her senses. Everywhere hurt but the most intense was in her gut. When she glanced down, she understood why.

She was impaled straight through her middle with a rebar and could feel it in the ground beneath her. A torrent of memories of her and Cinder fighting it out came back to her before she found herself at a blank. Had she blacked out from Cinder's power? What had happened? Did Cinder find the relic while she was passed out?

It took all that she had not to let out a yell of pain as her hands shakily hovered over the rebar. Gods, this pain was unimaginable. The sound of voices caught her attention and she found herself holding her breath.

 _"Do you believe in destiny?"_

With a turn of her head, she caught Cinder standing across a young woman with hair the color of fire. She wore armor and held weapons that was almost akin to a gladiator. Appeared to be Weiss' age. This was a student fighting a sham Maiden.

Winter let out a pained gasp as the two broke into battle once more. Blazes of fire and the clang of metal filled her senses as the feeling of apprehension crawled up her neck. Cinder was fighting to kill, that much was plain to see. But this girl...she was just a student who fought to save. There wasn't much time before Cinder got the upper hand.

Her eyes darted around for her sword and found it lying discarded a ways from her. She cursed to herself and took stock of what was left of her aura. She didn't have much left. She could barely keep herself together. The fear of a student dying on her watch was the only thing pushing her on.

She could hear the sounds of more fighting in her muffled ears and forced her head to look. The moment she did, her hand stretched out on instinct. To hell with her injury. Cinder fired some type of magic arrow towards the unsuspecting student. Winter's bright blue glyph appeared large and true in front of the student's defensive form. A giant Beowolf leapt out of the glyph and locked its jaws on the arrow, making it dissipate.

The fiery haired student jolted at the escape of death and found Winter's relieved gaze. Her hand was shaking as she allowed the Beowolf to keep Cinder busy for the moment.

The girl had knelt beside her, bright emerald eyes filled with worry. "Ms. Schnee, I-"

"You need to leave. Quickly, before Cinder comes back arou-" Winter shut her eyes as the slight intake of breath aggravated the wound. A hesitant hand touched her shoulder. It appears that this student was just as stubborn as she was.

Winter felt a wave of dizziness as she dropped her hand and the Beowolf disappeared. She was treading on thin ice now. Who knew how much blood she had lost since she woke up. The night sky was starting to blur above her. She was barely able to recognize Cinder's approaching form. But the pained cry that the student made beside her brought everything back into rapid focus.

A quick glance over told her that she had only been hit with the blast of fire and not that magic arrow from before. Winter thought she had seen the last of it, when she found herself staring down the length of it and straight into Cinder's smug stare.

"Too stunned to move, I take it?" The woman snarkily said, an annoyed glint in her eye.

Winter couldn't do much but groan in pain. Speaking would've been worse.

"No, this death would be too kind. Instead, why don't we do this?" The arrow vanished into thin air and before Winter knew it, she was letting out a guttural cry. The entire rebar was in Cinder's grasp, rivulets of blood streaming down her wrist.

Winter clenched her jaw, unwanted tears of pain streaking down her cheeks as she glared hard at the woman above her. This was it. This was how she was going to die.

"If I'm dying then you're coming with me." She shakily whispered as she turned her right hand palm up. The faint glow of her glyph appeared above her hand and behind Cinder's form.

Just as her Beowolf launched itself at Cinder, Winter heard a piercing scream and turned her head to see Ruby. She muttered her name confusedly before two beams of white light came out of the teen's eyes and enveloped everything in sight.

* * *

This was worse than when she came out of the fire. Terrifyingly worse. The pool of blood underneath her was a sight he never wanted to see.

"Uncle Qrow..."

"Go now, quickly. Find a medic."

He didn't like how hoarse and strained his words sounded. Another glance and someone might think he actually cared for the bleeding woman next to him. He had his coat bundled and pressed into Winter's torso firmly, his darkened red eyes locked on her face. To detect any type of reaction, movement, twitch.

He had seen her head loll back into unconsciousness once Ruby had done what she did. That movement had made his blood run cold.

She was several shades paler than her natural white complexion and her eyes were already rimmed with blue. Qrow could detect the faint rise and fall of her chest, but the pang of uncertainty clung to him.

How long could she keep fighting for her life?

Why hadn't he gotten here sooner? He should've known. This was Cinder's master plan. To bring down as many pillars and obstacles in the way.

"C'mon, Winter. Hang in there for me." Qrow murmured as his gaze flicked back to her face. He could feel the fabric of his coat grow heavy as it continued to soak her blood.

When he felt a hitch in her breathing, he froze as he watched her eyebrows furrow in pain. A low groan escaped her lips and suddenly electric blue eyes turned dull slid over from its blank stare to meet his. She gave him a dazed blink and shocked him when her cold hand lay atop his own.

"Qrow..." Her voice was so soft it wasn't clear if she had said anything at all if he hadn't been watching. Her usual hardened expression was gone and with that, all the emotions she kept buried came to the surface.

"I've got you, it's okay. It's going to be just fine, Winter." It took everything to keep his voice steady for her. But he knew that his face probably told a different story. He saw the pain, despair, and fear in her eyes and to say it terrified him was an understatement.

"How is...?" A whisper.

"Weiss and the others are pretty banged up, but they'll be okay. So just keep fighting that pull, alright? You have to. For Weiss." Qrow quietly said with a nod, never breaking away from her stare.

When the medics arrived, Qrow found himself pulling his hand away from hers.

* * *

 **Hi guys! Been a while since a new update huh? Well welcome back! Hope you've all been well. I'm actually thinking about ending this story in the next chapter - been giving it some thought lately. I just wanted to say thank you to you all for sticking around and enjoying my writing! Check out my other stories if you're curious.**

 **Let me know your thoughts on this chapter! Reviews are always appreciated.**


	12. Chapter 12

"You can't be serious."

"Oh, but I am. Why not indulge me for a moment, Ice Queen?"

Winter gave a side long glance to the man seated next to her. She was sat up on her hospital bed with pain medication flowing through her veins. A pair of shot glasses were laid before her eating table, the familiar white bottle that once belonged to her beside it.

"Well you'll just have to drink for two then." She replied with a small grin. She hadn't thought Qrow would break open the bottle with her. He offered it to her as a congratulatory drink to escaping death. Once he found her awake of course.

Winter would've gladly drank to that if not for her condition at the moment.

"That's the spirit!" Qrow exclaimed as his fist swiped the air. If one looked closer, they would've seen the exhaustion etched all over his face. Winter had seen it moments after she woke and after Qrow returned with the doctor.

As the man poured two shots, Winter watched his every move subconsciously. He didn't seem like he had been injured in any way. No bandages or stiffened movements of the like. She tried to remember most of what happened with Cinder but it was hazy. She could hear the rumble of Qrow's voice however and the feeling of comfort and relief that had washed over her. If he hadn't been there, she probably would be in a grave right now.

She suddenly realized she owed this man much more than a bottle of liquor now. The thought almost made her wallet cry.

"This makes this the second time you've found me, Qrow." Winter caught the way he threw back both shots one after the other. The man let out a sigh of content after he downed the liquid.

"Mm, is that right?" There was a tired blink of his eyes before they searched Winter's face.

"Correct. Is there something that you would like besides alcohol as my way of expressing my gratitude?"

When Qrow stiffened at her words, it caught her attention. She blinked as the man remained quiet for a moment. Was he really taking this to heart? She jolted when he suddenly leaned towards her and gently placed a calloused hand on top of her head. She was propelled to further confusion when she felt him ruffling her loosened hair.

"Besides the alcohol, for you to stop dying would be nice." Qrow muttered softly, his red eyes meeting hers in an unfamiliar fondness.

The burn in Winter's cheeks were hotter than she ever felt as she pursed her lips in exasperation. What in the world had gotten into him?! She was about to make an outburst when his hand pulled away and became a pillow for his head.

Qrow mumbled something about getting some shut eye, before prompting placing his head in his arms. His posture reminded Winter of a cat, amusingly enough. It brought a warm smile to Winter's lips as she found herself placing a hand on Qrow's head.

"Not dying? I suppose I could do that."

* * *

Winter later found out through Weiss what had happened to the rest of her team. Ruby had done something unbelievable, Yang had lost a part of herself, and Blake was nowhere to be seen. The girl with fiery red hair had returned to her team with tears in her eyes. Beacon Tower was devastated and apparently Ozpin was nowhere to be found, along with Cinder and the rest of her crew.

"Things are a mess." Winter sighed to herself as she sat outside in the hospital garden for some air. She was well enough to walk around with an IV, but she definitely didn't feel like her usual self quite yet.

"It's good to see you up and about, Winter."

The familiar low grumble filled Winter's ears as her head snapped up from her stare towards the sky. Her brightened blue eyes saw James Ironwood standing beside her with a smile on his lips. He adorned his usual white uniform and sported some bandages on his hands and face.

"Sir!" Winter exclaimed as she made a move to stand. She paused when he put a hand up and shifted to take a seat next to her.

"No need for that, Winter. I wanted to see how you were doing." Ironwood said with an attentive look on his face. At this distance, Winter could see the lines of stress etched deeply into his skin.

"I'm feeling better every day, sir. I'll be at my best in no time." She saw him give a light nod and felt herself smile. "How are you, sir? Has there been any sign of Ozpin yet?"

The man next to her heaved a sigh as his usual stiff features relaxed for a moment. He rubbed his eyes with the heel of his palms before setting his back against the bench. Winter guessed that these past few days haven't been the easiest for him.

"We haven't been able to actually find Ozpin's body, so assume with that what you will. But we did find his cane, so I'm giving that a good sign. We happened to fix our mole problem amidst all of this, at least. We apprehended him just before the chaos at Beacon occurred - turned out to be a White Fang member. And I've been running on a few hours of sleep, but I can't complain." James looked down at his bandaged hands as he spoke. His voice had taken on a tired tone and it looked like the exhaustion was catching up to him.

"I'm sure that Ozpin will turn up one way or another in the end." Winter said definitively as she gave the General a glance. The gaze he was giving his clasped hands bore the glint of determination and pain.

A moment of silence passed between the two on the subject of missing man before a short buzz and a chime from James' phone disrupted it. When he breathed in sharply, it sounded as though the exhale got lodged into the back of his throat as his hand hovered over his coat pocket. A sheepish silver eyed glance to Winter followed by her firm nod, lead James to pull out his phone and check the notification.

"Well, duty calls." General Ironwood said with a sigh as he pocketed his device. He stood from the bench and turned to Winter with an expression that he was about to speak when she beat him to it.

"Sir, is there anything you need me to do?" The question had been eating at her since he made his presence known. She would rather not sit and idly wait while others were out doing who knows what, but if the General needed her at her best then she needed to be. The man gave her a small smile as he crossed his arms in thought.

"With the fall of Beacon's tower, there's no doubt that the towers of the other academies are targets now. We're increasing security at Atlas' tower at this moment. But any tasks for you at the moment, I have put on pause. You are to remain here and heal. Spend time with your sister - her and her team have been through a traumatizing experience. I'm sure you would want to stick around make sure they get back on their feet alright."

"Of course, sir." Winter replied as she stood with mild struggle. As she straightened herself, she gave him a quick salute.

* * *

The disapproving frown on Qrow's face would've deepened further if it weren't for the light chuckle next to him. His gaze bore into the retreating backs of his niece, that blonde boy with his teammate with the red hair, and Weiss. It was about six in the morning - a time that no student after surviving a traumatic event should be awake for. Yet here they were.

"Come on, Qrow. You honestly can't expect them all to just stay here. Especially after all that's happened. They want to help." Winter reasoned with a smile in her voice. She stood next to him with her arms crossed leisurely in front of her.

"Of course I know that. But..." There was a moment of hesitation as a particular head of fiery blonde hair popped into his head. The dimmed look in her eyes stared detachedly outside the window of her room. A hand gently held his shoulder, making him raise his gaze to meet Winter's. She gave him an understanding nod.

"She'll be alright. I've seen her spirit. She just needs some time - we all do. But with all that's happened, time is the one thing we don't have. Yang will just have to catch up."

The group of hunters in training were beginning to grow smaller before his eyes. Qrow bit his lip in hesitation before he returned Winter's nod with a brief one of his own. They both stood outside Yang and Ruby's home, the cool air hugging them.

"We'll tail them from a distance and take care of any Grimm that come their way. I know they're capable, I know. I just..." Qrow trailed off as his heart ached at all of the events that passed.

"You want to be able to protect them. Trust me, Qrow. I do too."

A red gaze met blue, both filled with glints of determination. With a nod to each other, the two turned towards the path and took a step forward together.

* * *

 **Hello everyone! Welcome to the last chapter of this! (hopefully lol). Knowing myself and how awesome this fandom is, we'll see how long this can stay completed before I give in and create another spinoff or add more snippets of episodes that have passed. Can you believe Volume 7 is on its way? I'm super excited to see what they'll do this time hehe.**

 **I hope you have all enjoyed and had a good time with this little story! I've had such a fun time writing each chapter and getting to strengthen the friendship between Qrow and Winter along the way. Thank you for all of the follows/favorites/reviews throughout this, the interest is much appreciated! Please let me know what you think and how you would feel about me suddenly updating or creating something new!**

 **Have a wonderful day!**


End file.
